


Money

by Cumbermarvel (UglyJackal)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-05-23 10:56:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14932916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UglyJackal/pseuds/Cumbermarvel
Summary: Stephen and Wong have money problems. But the Avengers don't know that, and Stephen doesn't want them to.





	Money

Stephen didn't like to admit to anybody that he and Wong struggled with money. They often had to skip meals because they simply couldn't afford to buy basic ingredients. It took a toll on both of them; losing weight rapidly, which caused them to have to take more frequent breaks from training. It also meant that sometimes the both of them had to go out with clothes that smelled like sweat and dirt, because they didn't have the money to pay for hot water. Despite this, they quickly got used to cold showers, something that the Avengers had noticed - especially when the ice bucket challenge had been all the rage. Peter had convinced them to do it for charity, and Stephen had been surprised by it; between them, Tony and Peter had hefted a huge bucket of icy water and thrown it over the sorcerer, who had only flinched at the shock of being covered with water, but he hadn't spent any time complaining about how cold he was, like Bruce and Tony had.

It was exhausting and annoying and Stephen hated it with a burning passion.

He missed his old life, but not for the fact that he was a neurosurgeon with hands that didn't shake when he tried to do simple mundane tasks. He missed it for the luxury, for the fact that he was able to spend money as soon as he got it, that he had so much of it at his disposal. He missed the fact that he couldn't feed himself some days.

But would he ask for help? Dear God, no. He had his pride to think about.

In his head, he pictured Tony, Steve, Natasha, and the rest of the Avengers laughing at him for his struggles. He saw himself flinching at the insults, a usual variant of "poor" and "peasant". But the worst was when Tony looked at him, dead in the eye, and told him that he wasn't worthy of being called an Avenger or the Sorcerer Supreme. If he could barely look after himself, then how could he even think that he could looking after the rest of the world.

After another day of no hot water, which meant smelly clothes and cold showers, Stephen threw down a book in frustration. 'Why do we live like this, Wong?' he snapped, 'why can't we afford basic things?'

Wong looked at him in disapproval and picked up the book. 'Neither of us can get a normal job,' he said, 'because of our duties to the universe.'

'But there must be something we can do.'

'You could ask the Avengers-'

'No.'

'Then, no, there is nothing we can do.'

Stephen sighed irritably. 'They're coming over tonight,' he groused, 'for some sort of "bonding exercise".'

Wong said nothing. And the conversation was over.

Stephen made up his mind to use magic to give the illusion that he wasn't struggling. He would turn some of the relics into fancy items of furniture and decor, as well as parking a fancy car that wasn't really there outside the Sanctum. He could try to conjure some hot water in the boiler, so that if anyone washed their hands, they wouldn't have cold water hit them. He could put an illusion on the fridge for it to be full of high end food, not that they would be able to eat anything, but just in case. Though he wouldn't know how to explain it if someone came to him and asked why their hand just phased through a carton of shrimp.

A couple of hours before the Avengers were due to arrive, he set about casting his illusions.

* * *

'Hey, Mister Doctor,' Tony greeted with a wink as the sorcerer opened the door to him.

The rest of the Avengers piled in, all with various greetings.

'Hello, Wizard,' Thor said with a bow, 'it is good to see you again. You wouldn't happen to have another of those infinite beer glasses, would you?'

Stephen rolled his eyes. 'I don't think I need to give you any alcohol today, Thor,' he rebutted.

The God of Thunder walked inside with a disappointed expression.

There were plates of nibbles around the kitchen, along with flutes of lemonade. When asked about this, Stephen didn't say that he had gotten it for a bargain, he said that he didn't want any alcohol for any of them, seeing as he had easily breakable things.

The Avengers milled around for a couple of hours before they called it a night. Wong was a firm favourite with them, but Stephen was still very much a stranger to them, seeing as the sorcerer didn't relax and enjoy their company. Though he had made some sort of an enemy out of Steve Rogers, having heard about what he had done to Tony. There had been a heated argument about that and a bristling tension between the two men for the rest of the evening. Tony had thanked him for standing up of him, but he had made it clear that he didn't want it to happen again.

Once they had left, the illusions all disappeared, and it was back to struggling again.

* * *

He had visitors once in a blue moon, and every time they did, similar illusions were placed around the Sanctum. But one day, he had no warning.

Tony came by, walking in without knocking, by now being good friends with the sorcerer, enjoying the banter that they had between them. And he was immediately met with the sight of Stephen and Wong trying to manually fix a burst pipe.

'Everything alright?' he asked.

Stephen snapped his head around to stare at the engineer. He could see him looking around, taking in the second-hand furniture, the empty shelves, the fact that Stephen was poor. He turned back to the pipe and gritted his teeth, casting an angry spell to temporarily keep the pipe from breaking.

He turned back to Tony and stood up. Before he could say anything, Tony looked at him and asked, 'Do you struggle with money, Stephen?'

And all the sorcerer could do was look at the ground, clench his fists and nod.

'Why didn't you say anything?' the engineer asked, 'I'd have helped.'

'He's too fucking proud,' Wong grumbled.

The Sorcerer Supreme growled and voiced his worries about the Avengers not taking him seriously because of his money problems, that they wouldn't see him worthy of being one of them.

'That's dumb,' Tony replied, 'we don't care if you're rich or not, so long as you pull your weight and fight with us to protect the citizens, you live how you want. And don't be scared to ask for help either.'

Stephen shrugged, embarrassed and overwhelmed at Tony's kindness.

'I'm gonna help with your money,' the engineer said, 'I have more money than I do sense, so I can give you some each month.'

'I want to work for it,' the sorcerer said, firmly.

'Then work as the doctor for all of us; patch us up with we cut ourselves and break our bones, if that makes you feel better.'

From then on, Stephen and Wong never had to scrounge for ten dollars at the sandwich deli ever again.


End file.
